Illamasqua Opulent Intense Lipgloss Review, Photos, Swatches

Christine — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 16:00:54 +0000

Illamasqua Opulent Intense Lipgloss

Dress Your Lips in Opulence

Illamasqua Opulent Intense Lipgloss ($20.00 for 0.20 fl. oz.) is described as a “rainbow beige.” It’s a golden-beige with multi-colored shimmer (almost holographic but not quite) that reads mostly champagne, gold, copper, and pink once applied. NARS Albatross looks a bit lighter on the lips. MAC Bubble Lounge is lighter, less beige. MAC Luxure has a similar sparkle but is more silvered.

Now, the tube I have (which is a sample) indicates this is a Sheer Lipgloss, but online, Illamasqua has it listed as an Intense Lipgloss and again on their Facebook (when they posted promos)–so I’m going to go off of their websites. Intense Lipglosses are supposed to be rich in color, non-sticky, and have a high-shine finish. The color coverage is semi-sheer to semi-opaque; there’s noticeable sheerness in the color, but there is enough sparkle that it still delivers a noticeable change in lip color. I didn’t initially feel the glitter/sparkle, but after a half hour, there was a definite grittiness and I could feel the edges of the sparkles. Opulent wore for four hours, which was good and consistent with most glosses. The texture was non-sticky, and the finish had plenty of glossy shine.

With Generation Q, I noticed that Illamasqua has changed the packaging on their lipglosses. They used to be slanted, squeeze-tubes, but now they’re clear plastic with a black screw-top that twists and reveals a brush-type applicator. Both of the glosses I receive with this type of applicator had several splayed bristles, which made application more difficult. The bristles could be a little softer, as they seemed to be a touch scratchy against the lips as well as created some brush strokes. I’m not sure if I just happened to get two exceptionally messed-up brushes or if a lot of them are going to be that way. For now, we’ll assume that because these were samples, they were an early run, and perhaps not pristine, but I don’t think the applicator is ideal for this gloss formula–a regular doe-foot would be easier to maneuver around the lips and be less likely to cause visible brush strokes. I also detected a fruity scent.